We use words to create the story of our life. We think in languages and describe our experiences and desires through the words we choose. The words you select will create what you want or they will fuel drama and a victim mentality.

The challenge is that much of modern life is on automatic and it is common to go unconscious to what we say. Learning to be impeccable with your words will help you stay in an empowered relationship with yourself and others.

Creators are at the center of TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)™ and have learned to be intentional with their words, based upon what they want to create for their life. Creators do not use words against themselves or others.

When we are in the Dreaded Drama Triangle (DDT)™ the words we select are often turned against ourselves: “I am too fat or too old.” “Why does everything go wrong?” “I am not lovable.” When we use these words against ourselves we will most likely use the same words against others.

Most of us are honest people and try to tell the truth. The trouble is our automatic way of listening and speaking requires that we tune-out our own listening.

By forcing yourself to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth for 24 hours, you will be forced to pause and listen to your internal self-talk. Please have fun with this “homework” and trust the process and learning. Here’s how the exercise works:

In the next week designate one day and declare it your “truth day!” Commit to absolutely and totally telling the truth for the 24 hours.

When you wake-up on the morning of your truth day, remind yourself to speak the complete truth all day long in each and every situation. If you are late for an appointment, no little white lies about the traffic. State the facts and the truth. When you are tempted to take credit where credit is not due, tell the total truth.

Make notes throughout the day and record even the slightest tendency to stray from the truth. Reflect at the end of the day on how often you were tempted to amplify the facts. Notice the situation and reflect on your patterns.

What circumstances tempted you to be less than truthful?

How did you feel when you told the truth when you normally tell a small lie?

What determined when you shared your opinions or held back?

What communication habits did you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?

At the end of the day, congratulate yourself for becoming more aware of your unconscious habits of speech. The words you speak create your life. You have a choice to use drama-filled words or words of creativity and empowerment. Which do you choose?

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3 Vital Questions for Work & Life

The 3 Vital Questions online course provides an organizational context that makes the Power of TED* frameworks and processes actionable and easy to apply in everyday situations and creates cultures of empowerment that produce results.